In Afghanistan, a cop who hands out money, instead of taking bribes

To highlight police corruption in Afghanistan, a US filmmaker set up a fake police checkpoint in Kabul, dressed as an Afghan policeman, and stopped cars. But he didn't take bribes from drivers. Instead, he handed out money.

ByDion Nissenbaum, McClatchy NewspapersJune 21, 2010

An Afghan National Police (ANP) member gave a sign to move to Afghan farmers at a temporary checkpoint in the Dand district, south of Kandahar, on Sunday. A man posing as a cop, not pictured, handed out money to Kabul drivers in 2009 as part of a film highlighting police corruption in Afghanistan.

REUTERS/Denis Sinyakov

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Kabul, Afghanistan — On the hidden-camera video, it looks like any other Kabul police checkpoint where motorists are asked for small bribes.

A tall, scraggly bearded officer stops a battered station wagon, looks through the trunk, and checks the driver's papers.

Then the uniformed officer leans into the car window with an unexpected offer.

"On behalf of the city of Kabul and the Kabul police, if you have paid a bribe or 'tip' to someone in the past, I apologize," the officer says in Dari to the disbelieving driver. "Please take 100 Afghanis," about $2.

On a warm afternoon in summer 2009, Kabul-based artist Aman Mojadidi flagged down dozens of cars at a fake checkpoint to hand a little reverse "baksheesh" as his coconspirators filmed the befuddled responses of drivers.

Mr. Mojadidi's aim was simple: He wanted to draw attention to the pervasive misuse of power in Afghanistan and see how Afghan drivers would react when he apologized on behalf of a widely scorned police force.

"To see the abuse of power it can be as easy as putting on a uniform," said Mojadidi, a 39-year-old Jacksonville, Fla., native who recently transformed the footage into a short film called "Payback."

Checkpoints are the most visible reminder to Afghans that the nation is infused with corruption. And the US is investing billions of dollars into rapidly training a new police force that's supposed to shed its image of a state-backed gang of roadside robbers.

"Police are the first thing that people see, touch, and feel that gives them either confidence or a lack of confidence in their government," said US Army Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell, who heads up the NATO police and Army training mission in Afghanistan.

The task is especially daunting.

Entry-level police officers earn about $165 a month. Most don't make much more unless they work in the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan.

The low pay means that police officers, especially those at checkpoints, often try to pad their pay by demanding that drivers pay them "tea money" or "baksheesh."

For that reason, Afghan drivers often approach police checkpoints with a sense of dismay, and convincing low-paid police officers to abandon a longstanding practice isn't an easy task.

"The corruption that people are dealing with at checkpoints and in everyday life is what you need to focus on," said Mojadidi, who's a nephew of Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, the former president who now serves as the leader of Afghanistan's upper house of parliament.

Mojadidi set out last yearto find out how easy it would be to transform himself into a police officer after seeing Taliban insurgents disguised as policemen stage a series of brazen attacks in the Afghan capital.

It is against the law to sell police and Army uniforms in Afghanistan's open markets.

Last spring, however, Mojadidi and "Payback" director Walied Osman went to Kabul's central market where they bought four uniforms, complete with pins, police patches, and boots, for about $125.

"The sale of military uniforms, including police uniforms, is absolutely forbidden," Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary recently told McClatchy. "If criminals, terrorists, and bad guys can use these uniforms it is an act against the nation of Afghanistan."

Mr. Bashary appeared unaware of the warren of shops where military uniforms are openly sold.

"There are shops that sell some key things, like ammunition vests and simple hats, but not uniforms," Bashary said. "The sale of military uniforms is absolutely barred from being sold in open markets and bazaars."

However, the market where Mojadidi and Mr. Osman bought the uniforms is still bustling.

The one-room shops are filled with police hats, military patches, camouflage pants, Army boots, and tailors ready to custom-fit full uniforms for customers.

On a recent afternoon, McClatchy reporters easily purchased an Afghan police uniform, complete with police patches and pins, for about $13.

"If anybody can go buy a police uniform in a bazaar, then anyone can go buy a police uniform in Kabul – and the implications are really heavy," Mojadidi said.

After buying the uniforms for his faux checkpoint last summer, Mojadidi went to the local police station to seek permission for a project he described only in vague terms.

Remarkably, the police not only gave him the OK, they sent a police officer out to keep an eye on things.

The police officer looked on as Mojadidi and the conspirators used boulders and traffic signs to set up their fake checkpoint on a stretch of road between two real police roadblocks.

The officer watched as Mojadidi, in his illegally purchased police uniform, flagged down car after car.

With his untucked, wrinkled police shirt and silver thumb ring, Mojadidi didn't quite look the part. Nevertheless, drivers acquiesced as Mojadidi checked their papers and car trunks before reaching into his pocket and pulling out some cash.

Mojadidi oftenhad to explain the offer twice to disbelieving drivers. Most eventually took the bill and rumbled away with amused grins on their faces.